“Après moi, le board,” Balanchine said to me near the end of his life. I guess he wasn’t completely sure about me or the future.
The Board was always starstruck by [George Balanchine], and the dancers adored him. He was like a god, but always a constructive and supportive god. And he could be funny. Once [during a rehearsal] he was watching from the audience with a microphone when Violette Verdy made a mistake. “Oh God,” she exclaimed.
Over the PA system came the reply, “Just call me George.”
from "A life in ballet" by Peter Martins [The New Criterion, Volume 42, N 7]
I interviewed the legendary Suzanne Farrell, Balanchine's greatest dancer and muse, and I raved and gushed about her performance, with Peter Martins, in the glorious "Chaconne." Ms. Farrell politely listened to my out-of-control adoration and then responded, "We got the job done." This is surely the finest understatement I have ever heard in my life. It always makes me smile.
Posted by: Emily Fragos | March 08, 2024 at 08:49 PM